Egypt national team head coach Hossam El-Hadry has said low oxygen levels clipped their wings during their one-all draw against Kenya in the African Cup of Nations qualifiers at Moi Stadium, Kasarani on Thursday.
Egypt went on to book a slot in the forthcoming Afcon finals slated for Cameroon later in the year but the tactician believes they could have posted better results if the climate had been more favourable to them.
“I don’t want to speak about the oxygen levels, but of course this is an element that we had to deal with," he said.
El-Hadry said although a win would have been more fulfilling, he was still contented with the outcome given it made them achieve their main goal.
I wanted to win, but thank God we achieved our goal,” said El-Hadry while addressing journalists a day after the match.
The tactician also revealed they will be missing the services of their skipper Ahmed Hegazi in their next Afcon assignment against Comoros due to stern travel restrictions between Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
The defender left for Saudi to link up with the country's premiership side Ittihad where he plies trade.
“Ahmed Hegazi left us after the game and headed directly to the airport. However, the rest of the foreign-based players will remain with us for the next game,” El-Badry added.
